Collocations are words that naturally go together in English. Using correct collocations makes your English sound more natural and fluent.
• Make a decision (not "do a decision")
• Heavy rain (not "strong rain")
• Strong coffee (not "powerful coffee")
• Catch a cold (not "get a cold"? Actually both possible, but "catch" is common)
📝 2. Types of Collocations
• Verb + Noun: make a mistake, take a break
• Adjective + Noun: heavy rain, strong coffee
• Adverb + Adjective: highly recommended, deeply sorry
• Verb + Adverb: speak fluently, drive carefully
• Noun + Noun: coffee shop, business meeting
📝 3. Verb + Noun Collocations
• make a decision / mistake / effort / progress
• take a break / shower / look / chance
• have a bath / drink / conversation / problem
• do homework / business / damage / a favor
• give a speech / presentation / answer / gift
• keep a secret / promise / diary / balance
• catch a cold / bus / thief / fish
• pay attention / respect / a visit / a bill
• save time / money / energy / a life
• lose weight / interest / control / a game
📝 4. Adjective + Noun Collocations
• heavy rain / traffic / smoker / metal
• strong coffee / wind / opinion / evidence
• bright future / color / student / idea
• dark night / chocolate / secret / cloud
• deep sleep / water / thought / trouble
• high temperature / quality / speed / price
• low cost / energy / profile / voice
• wide range / variety / selection / choice
• close friend / relationship / call / shave
• main reason / point / problem / course
📝 5. Adverb + Adjective Collocations
• highly recommended / unlikely / successful / intelligent
• deeply sorry / concerned / moved / hurt
• extremely important / difficult / popular / cold
• perfectly normal / clear / good / acceptable
• absolutely necessary / certain / amazing / sure
• widely available / known / accepted / used
• completely different / wrong / satisfied / empty
• strongly opposed / influenced / supported / recommended
• reasonably priced / good / happy / successful
• bitterly cold / disappointed / opposed / regret
📝 6. Make vs Do Collocations
📌 MAKE (creating or producing)
make a decision, make a mistake, make an effort, make progress, make a promise, make a phone call, make a plan, make a choice, make a difference, make a noise, make money, make a profit
📌 DO (actions, tasks, work)
do homework, do business, do damage, do a favor, do the dishes, do the laundry, do your best, do nothing, do well, do exercise, do research, do a job
📌 Common Expressions with Make/Do
• make an appointment / make breakfast / make a phone call
• do your hair / do the shopping / do a course
📝 7. Have vs Take Collocations
📌 HAVE (experience, consume, possess)
have a bath, have a drink, have a meal, have a conversation, have a problem, have a baby, have a headache, have a break (UK), have fun, have a good time, have a look (UK)
📌 TAKE (action, duration, capture)
take a shower, take a break (US), take a walk, take a look (US), take a seat, take a photo, take a risk, take a chance, take time, take care, take a test, take medicine
💡 Note: "Have a break" is British English; "Take a break" is American English. Both are correct.
💬 8. Examples by Category (100+ Examples)
📌 Verb + Noun Collocations (30 examples)
1. make a decision → We need to make a decision by tomorrow.
2. make a mistake → I made a mistake on the test.
3. make an effort → She made an effort to be friendly.
4. take a break → Let's take a break for 10 minutes.
5. take a shower → I take a shower every morning.
6. have a conversation → We had a long conversation yesterday.
7. have a problem → Do you have a problem with that?
8. do homework → I have to do my homework now.
9. do business → They do business with many countries.
10. give a speech → The president gave a speech yesterday.
11. keep a secret → Can you keep a secret?
12. catch a cold → I caught a cold last week.
13. pay attention → Please pay attention to the teacher.
14. save time → Using the internet saves time.
15. lose weight → I need to lose weight.
16. make progress → She is making good progress.
17. make a phone call → I need to make a phone call.
18. take a chance → Take a chance and try something new.
19. have a baby → They had a baby last month.
20. do a favor → Can you do me a favor?
21. give an answer → He gave an honest answer.
22. keep a promise → He always keeps his promises.
23. catch a bus → I need to catch the 8 AM bus.
24. pay a bill → I have to pay the electricity bill.
25. save money → We need to save money for a house.
26. lose interest → I lost interest in the movie.
27. make a promise → He made a promise to help.
28. take a look → Take a look at this photo.
29. have a drink → Let's have a drink after work.
30. do research → She is doing research on climate change.
📌 Adjective + Noun Collocations (30 examples)
31. heavy rain → The heavy rain caused flooding.
32. strong coffee → I need strong coffee in the morning.
33. bright future → She has a bright future ahead.
34. dark chocolate → Dark chocolate is healthy.
35. deep sleep → I had a deep sleep last night.
36. high temperature → The high temperature is 35°C.
37. low cost → They offer low-cost flights.
38. wide range → They have a wide range of products.
39. close friend → He is a close friend of mine.
40. main reason → The main reason is lack of time.
41. heavy traffic → We were stuck in heavy traffic.
42. strong wind → The strong wind blew the trees.
43. bright color → She wears bright colors.
44. dark secret → He has a dark secret.
45. deep trouble → They are in deep trouble.
46. high quality → This is high quality material.
47. low energy → I feel low energy today.
48. wide variety → There is a wide variety of options.
49. close call → That was a close call!
50. main point → You missed the main point.
51. heavy smoker → He is a heavy smoker.
52. strong opinion → She has strong opinions.
53. bright student → He is a bright student.
54. deep thought → She was lost in deep thought.
55. high speed → The car drives at high speed.
56. low profile → He keeps a low profile.
57. wide selection → They have a wide selection of books.
58. close relationship → They have a close relationship.
59. main problem → The main problem is funding.
60. heavy metal → Heavy metal music is loud.
📌 Adverb + Adjective Collocations (20 examples)
61. highly recommended → This restaurant is highly recommended.
62. deeply sorry → I am deeply sorry for the mistake.
63. extremely important → It is extremely important to be on time.
64. perfectly normal → Your feelings are perfectly normal.
65. absolutely necessary → Is it absolutely necessary?
66. widely available → This product is widely available.
67. completely different → This is completely different from before.
68. strongly opposed → They are strongly opposed to the plan.
69. reasonably priced → The hotel is reasonably priced.
70. bitterly cold → It was bitterly cold outside.
71. highly unlikely → It is highly unlikely that he will come.
72. deeply concerned → She is deeply concerned about the environment.
73. extremely difficult → The test was extremely difficult.
74. perfectly clear → Is everything perfectly clear?
75. absolutely sure → Are you absolutely sure?
76. widely known → He is widely known as an expert.
77. completely wrong → You are completely wrong.
78. strongly influenced → She was strongly influenced by her parents.
79. reasonably good → The results are reasonably good.
80. bitterly disappointed → I was bitterly disappointed.
📌 Make vs Do Collocations (10 examples)
81. make a decision → I need to make a decision.
82. do homework → I have to do my homework.
83. make a mistake → Everyone makes mistakes.
84. do business → They do business together.
85. make progress → We are making progress.
86. do a favor → Can you do me a favor?
87. make a phone call → I'll make a phone call.
88. do exercise → You should do more exercise.
89. make money → He makes a lot of money.
90. do your best → Always do your best.
📌 Have vs Take Collocations (10 examples)
91. have a shower (UK) / take a shower (US) → I'm going to take a shower.
92. have a break (UK) / take a break (US) → Let's take a break.
93. have a conversation → We had a good conversation.
94. take a look → Take a look at this.
95. have a problem → I have a problem with my computer.
96. take a risk → You have to take a risk sometimes.
97. have fun → Have fun at the party!
98. take care → Take care of yourself.
99. have a baby → They are going to have a baby.
100. take a photo → Can you take a photo of us?
❌ 9. Common Mistakes
Mistake
Correction
❌ I need to do a decision.
✅ I need to make a decision.
❌ There is strong rain today.
✅ There is heavy rain today.
❌ I want to have a break. (US)
✅ I want to take a break. (US)
❌ She made a favor for me.
✅ She did me a favor.
❌ I have a photo of the sunset.
✅ I took a photo of the sunset.
⚠️ Important: Collocations are fixed expressions. You cannot change the words randomly. Learn them as whole chunks.
✍️ 10. Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Choose the correct verb (make or do)
1. ______ a decision
2. ______ homework
3. ______ a mistake
4. ______ a favor
5. ______ progress
Exercise 3: Fill in the blank with the correct collocation
1. I need to ______ a decision by tomorrow.
2. She ______ a shower every morning.
3. Please ______ attention to the teacher.
4. We need to ______ time for the meeting.
5. He ______ a mistake on the test.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q1.What is the difference between 'make' and 'do'?▼
Generally, 'make' is used for creating or producing something (make a decision, make a cake). 'Do' is used for actions, tasks, or work (do homework, do the dishes). There are exceptions, so it's best to learn common collocations.
Q2.Why is it 'heavy rain' but 'strong wind'?▼
These are fixed collocations in English. We say 'heavy rain' (not 'strong rain') and 'strong wind' (not 'heavy wind'). Learning collocations helps you sound more natural.
Q3.How can I learn collocations effectively?▼
Read and listen to authentic English (news, books, podcasts). Notice word partnerships. Use a collocations dictionary. Practice with exercises and write your own sentences.